Outlook 2018: Robust radio measurement system tops FM players’ wishlist

Abraham Thomas, CEO, Radio City, and Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM, chart out the road ahead for the FM radio industry in India in 2018. Both radio industry leaders are optimistic about a good year for the medium in the year ahead, while at the same time, they have urged for speedy introduction of a comprehensive and credible radio audience measurement system. 

We’re expecting ad spends to increase across categories: Abraham Thomas 

The policy changes of 2017 are expected to further stabilise in 2018, thereby streamlining business operations across industries. The real estate sector, which is amongst the largest contributors to the advertising revenues, is expected to pick up pace post the initial problems faced due to the introduction of new policies. We are also expecting advertising spends to increase across categories, considering this will be the pre-election year. The government ad spends are also expected to grow with the substantial time ahead to announce their achievements. With these factors in mind, we are looking forward to a stable year, provided we do not face any major economic disruptions. 

Key developments & trends 

We have been robustly expanding our digital presence. Radio City became the only network in India to offer an exclusive Hindi website, radiocity.in - Hindi, which serves as the e-face of Radio City’s 39 stations. Additionally, our expansive network of 47 existing web radio stations is expected to generate exciting opportunities for Radio City in the coming year. Our collaboration with LMRC to offer specialised content across all Lucknow Metro stations added a new dimension to travel entertainment. We recently launched Video City, which is India’s first Video FM that provides our audience with a sneak peek into all the fun that is happening in the radio studio. With this, we aim to transform radio from a listener-only medium to an experiential digital multimedia platform. Starting with Mumbai, we plan to take this initiative to other cities in the coming year. Radio City also tied up with Apple Music, becoming the only Indian radio network to offer curated playlists on the platform. These initiatives reinforce our commitment to be at the forefront of innovation in the radio industry and this will continue to be on our agenda for 2018. 

Wishlist for 2018 

The radio industry has been in dire need of a comprehensive and credible radio audience measurement system, which is critical at a time when radio advertising revenues are growing. At present, RAM or Radio Audio Measurement provides data for FM radio channels only in the top four radio markets – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. We are hopeful that 2018 will see the development of a robust radio measurement system for the radio industry. 

2018 looks good so far: Nisha Narayanan 

Businesses are always done with a lot of optimism and we are optimistic about the new year. 2018 looks good so far. Following are some of the macro economic scenario that will govern the overall economic landscape in India, thus impacting the radio business as well:

• GDP growth rate looks promising
• Moody upgrades India’s rating
• Forthcoming Elections
• GST stabilisation
• RERA implementation and real estate market stabilisation

Wishlist for 2018 

It’s utmost necessary now that the radio industry comes up with a common currency to measure listenership. RAM has its own pitfalls. A common currency with adequate representation of the universe would not only help the sector grow, but would also help the clients and media agencies realise the reach of radio in a better fashion, especially in Tier 2 and 3 towns of India.

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